Gaara's Firsts
by gokuhappymonkey
Summary: A trilogy of one-shots involving our favorite Kazekage and his new experiences. Rated T for some language.
1. Chapter 1

Gaara's "Firsts"

Chapter 1: First sleep

"Okay, Kazekage…" Temari snapped gently to her red-haired sibling at the desk, "today you will try to go to sleep, paperwork or not."

The redhead snapped his head up from the paperwork he had just finished and shot an icy glare. Shukaku had been out of his body for about a month, and already he was pressured into sleep?

"I'm not tired." Temari looked at her sibling's face, pale and red-eyed, and said: "Well, I believe your face tells me otherwise. I don't understand what you're so afraid of. It's just a few hours' rest. Now let's go." She pulled Gaara out from behind the desk, much to his surprise, and led him into his room, which stayed clean and unused.

"Now Gaara, I propose at least six hours of rest. Any less and I'll have you locked in here until you sleep the full six. Kankuro here will keep watch," Temari said with a motion to their older brother. Kankuro froze at the sight of his youngest brother, whose aura and glare began to shoot in daggers and a gust of sand.

"Uh…are you sure this is a good idea? I feel danger…" Kankuro queried uneasily. Gaara plopped himself on the bed with a huff and laid there, continuing to glare at his siblings with red eyes. Temari shut the door, oblivious to the deathly glares, and placed her hand on Kankuro's shoulder.

"Well brother, I'm counting on your iron will. Make sure he sleeps." Kankuro felt his eye twitch uncontrollably as Temari left him in front of the door. Dark, angry aura swept under the door in droves, causing the elder brother to shudder. After an hour passed, the aura vanished, and all seemed quiet. Kankuro pressed his back to the door quietly and sighed in relief.

Gaara lay silent in his room, his Kazekage robes lightly folded on his small desk. Irritation and boredom swept over him, but he knew it wasn't much good.

"They're like cockroaches…never leave me alone." He got off of the bed, his back cracking out of exhaustion, and removed his shirt. He did a few stretches, letting the bones crack back into place, and he sat upon the bed once again. Feeling bored again, he positioned himself to stand, but found his legs shaking under him and causing him to drop to the floor.

_What? _Gaara went to stand again, but found his legs were too weak to support him, and he landed again with a small _thud_. His eyes became blurry and his body felt heavy. Gaara found he was no longer able to lift himself, and now lay helpless on the floor.

"D-Damn…it…" He tried even harder to get up, but to no avail. Eventually, he grew exhausted and dropped down the rest of the way. He felt his eyes becoming heavier, blurrier…

Kankuro sat silently for three hours, only moving to use the bathroom or to get food. A thumping sound from Gaara's room jolted him to a stop as he came back from the kitchen, but he felt it was just Gaara throwing a small fit. He sighed and replaced himself in front of the door, nibbling on a turkey sandwich. Another thump made Kankuro jump again and this time, he opened a small crack in the doorway.

The small figure of Gaara was passed out on the floor, breathing quietly to show he was alive. Kankuro tiptoed silently, sandwich in hand, and bent down to check if his young sibling was hurt. Instead, he was shocked to see the young Kazekage sleeping, spread out along the floor, in an almost peaceful manner. Kankuro smiled to himself, and went to fetch Gaara a blanket when he spotted his brother's lack of a shirt and his sudden movement to curl into a ball.

After tending to his brother, Kankuro left the room to wait out the other two hours. Temari and Baki were outside the door, waiting to hear the news.

"Well, he's asleep, but I'm telling you, I think he was trying really hard to fight it. I mean, he WAS curled up on the floor," Kankuro stated silently. Temari and Baki both let out relieved sighs and left Gaara alone. Even Kankuro went off to do some of the paperwork in Gaara's place while he slept. All was well and good…

…until Gaara woke up.

Kankuro and Temari silently played some Go Fish in the living room, when Kankuro caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye.

_{Kaaaankurooooo….Temaaaaariiiiii….} _The angry snarls filled the room, and the two siblings froze in their places. Kankuro dropped his cards, letting them scatter on the ground. The dark aura once again seeped in, ready to strangle the two elder siblings, when-

"….Th-thank you for the rest. It was very…refreshing. I'm going back to my paperwork now. Feel free to go back to your game."

As the red headed sibling turned and left. Kankuro and Temari eyed each other fearfully.

"Was it wrong that I almost pissed myself?" Kankuro asked. Temari could only grin uneasily.

And from then on, Gaara the Kazekage always made sure to sleep when need be. And the paperwork still got done.


	2. Chapter 2

Gaara's "Firsts"

Chapter 2: First Xmas

It was a rare sight in Sunagakure. Cold breezes hit the area rapidly, and white puffs of cotton-like stuff touched the ground in piles. Kankuro awoke to a sudden chill and the tiny look of amazement in his young brother's face as he threw open Kankuro's window.

"W-what's up, Gaara?" Kankuro said, stifling a yawn. Gaara turned to Kankuro, bluish eyes gleaming with joy like a child's.

"This moment. I've never seen this type of weather in Suna before…" The redhead's cold voice had a mysterious hint of joy and excitement to it, and even a smile escaped to his face. His cheeks were red from the chilled air, but he didn't seem to care, as he proceeded to rush out of Kankuro's room and into Temari's.

Temari was sleeping gently in her bed, enjoying the warmth of the desert that was always present. A sudden _bang! _Jolted her from her bed and she awoke, finding the silhouette of the Kazekage next to her window.

"Gaara? What are you do-ah!" Gaara grabbed a hold of Temari's window, and with a sharp tug, threw open the panes of glass, letting the cold air and white flakes rush in. The entire building was opened up to the feel of the snow and the chilling breeze. Gaara eyed the calendar and noticed the name December.

_Uzumaki always told me of a certain holiday in December….ah! It was-_

"…Christmas!" Gaara mouthed the words with a smile. He had never experienced Christmas, mainly because he lived in the desert, but also due to the fact that nobody ever was around him enough to help him experience it.

What day was Christmas? Gaara eyed the calendar again, remembering the day Naruto had kindly mentioned to him back in Konoha. The 25th…The number of the current day stamped itself into Gaara's line of sight in huge type: DECEMBER 25TH.

"Gaara…why are you trying to freeze out the whole Kazekage residence?" Baki asked with a shudder. Gaara turned back to him, a look present on his face that used to petrify all who crossed the young redhead.

"Why Baki…" the bluish eyes shrunk even smaller, "…It's Christmas! I want everyone to experience this!"

Temari, Kankuro and Baki all stood in place as Gaara rushed to his desk and pulled out a set of red and green streamers.

"Are these the colors used at Christmas? I need a tree! And presents!"

The Kazekage went wild, decorating the entire estate with as many colored decorations as he could. Of course, he failed to protect himself from the cold, and passed out in the snow, giving himself a horrible cold. He sat in bed, silently fuming and sipping a cup of warm soup. Temari shook her head as she tended to her small brother.

"Gaara. I understand how you want to enjoy holidays…but aren't we Buddhist? I thought we don't celebrate Christmas?"

Gaara's eyes widened in shock and he gently stood up from his bed. He fumbled with the blankets and sulked back to his office, taking his soup with him. Kankuro blinked and turned to Temari.

"We're Buddhist? Wow…Looks like I need to rethink my lifestyle. And all this time I've been celebrating Christmas. Well, at least I can give Gaara a present this year. I was too afraid to before…"

The siblings peeked into the young Kazekage's room, and almost burst into laughter at the sight of their kid brother sulking under his large, puffy blankets with his old stuffed bear. His soup was still in his hands as he snuggled further into the blankets. Kankuro stepped in with a cream colored box wrapped in a shiny blue ribbon.

"Hey, Gaara. We may be Buddhist, but we can still enjoy a holiday. Here…I felt I could finally hand you a gift. Think of it as a 'Congrats on being Kazekage- slash- Merry Christmas' gift. Okay?"

Gaara's sulking face lit up automatically and he gently snatched the present from Kankuro's hands. It was a truly perfect first Christmas after all…even if the Kazekage did catch a cold.


	3. Chapter 3

Gaara's "Firsts"

Chapter 3: First Ghost Sighting

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Gaara leapt out of bed with a harsh thud as he heard his brother's shout of horror from across the hall. Temari even slammed her door open, unaware of her current attire (bra and panties), and growled.

"Dammit Kankuro! Can't you pipe down for even a little bit! I was finally able to get some rest!" Kankuro shielded his face, not only to protect himself from the kicks of his sister, but also from the embarrassment of seeing her in her underwear. Gaara said nothing, but his face was evidently brick red with shock. Temari turned her head to her smaller brother, and upon seeing his reddened face, realized what she was currently wearing.

"Oh my GOD! I am SO sorry about this, Gaara! Damn you, Kankuro! All because you had to yell over nothing!"

"B-but it wasn't nothing! I saw a ghost! I swear! It was right over my bed, staring at me!" Kankuro pleaded with his sister, but she ignored him and apologized once more to Gaara before dashing into her room to change. Gaara turned away to go back to sleep, but felt a tug on his shirt.

"You believe me… right, Gaara? I mean, I don't want to sound ridiculous, but-"

"You already sound ridiculous." Gaara's cold demeanor shot through his tired façade. He gently stepped back into his room and shut the door. A bright light interrupted his wish for slumber and formed into a beautiful figure.

Kankuro kneeled outside the door, kowtowing as he saw the subtle flash in Gaara's room.

"Gaara…I think that spirit was mom!"

Gaara was frozen in shock as the spirit moved closer to him, silently mouthing words that he himself could not hear. A wall of sand blocked the spirit from moving closer, but before Gaara could catch his breath, the spirit passed through the sand wall effortlessly.

_"Ra…Gaa…ra. My little boy."_

Gaara began to make out the features as the spirit reached out its hands. Tears ran down his pale face as he stretched out his arms as well.

"M-mother…"

Kankuro and Temari burst into Gaara's room, panicked for their sibling's safety, but were shocked to see Gaara curled upon the floor, tears staining his face.

"You-you saw her, huh? Mother?" Temari asked, "What did she tell you, Gaara?"

Gaara looked up and smiled from the floor.

"She said she loves me. She loves all of us."

The three all snuggled together in what would become a wonderful, yet frightening memory.


End file.
